


How You Get The Girl

by darthrevaan (Burning_Nightingale)



Series: Send Me A Ship AU Fics [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Askbox Fic, Cross-Generational Friendship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2690789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Nightingale/pseuds/darthrevaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin meets Boba's gorgeous new teacher, Miss Naberrie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How You Get The Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a 'send me a ship' meme on tumblr. Title from Taylor Swift's new album.

“So, today I have a new teacher.”

“That’s nice,” Anakin muttered distractedly. Usually he listened to whatever Boba had to tell him, but right now his mind was miles away trying to remember what time he’d said he and Ahsoka should meet for the movie they were seeing tonight, and Boba’s new teacher was the last thing on his mind.

Boba, undeterred, continued. “I mean, _finally_ , right? We’ve had a sub for ages while they tried to get someone.” He grinned, a little skip in his step as they continued down the road. “I hope she’s nice.”

“She will be,” Anakin muttered. “Look before you cross the road.”

They passed through another two city blocks before they reached their destination. The gates of the school were clogged with people pouring in, kids laughing and shoving and parents hanging around, chatting and catching up. “You don’t have to walk me all the way in,” Boba complained.

“What, and have you cut out again?” Anakin ruffled his hair, which was loudly protested. “C’mon, kid. Get real.”

“I wouldn’t cut out again,” Boba muttered.

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“You _won’t_ see it until I get to go to school on my own.”

“Just stop complaining.”

/

Boba’s school finished at three thirty, while his dad didn’t get off work until five. Anakin was done by four on most days, his boss too lazy to keep the garage open any longer (how they stayed in business was anyone’s guess), so he walked back and met Boba at the main gate of the school.

Today as he approached he could see Boba was talking to someone. She – it was almost definitely a she, from the hair and the figure – had her back to Anakin, so he couldn’t tell if he knew her or not. Boba spotted him a few paces out and waved enthusiastically. “Hey, Anakin! Come meet the new teacher!”

The woman turned, and Anakin blinked. _Wow_. She was strikingly lovely, and had a very pretty smile, which she turned on him. “Hello,” she said, warm and confident, stretching out a hand. “I’m Padmé Naberrie.”

It took him an awkward second to reengage his brain, but he covered by grinning as genuinely as he could and reaching quickly to shake her hand. “Anakin, Anakin Skywalker, hi.”

“Miss Naberrie is our new teacher for this year,” Boba said. He was looking up at Anakin with a strange look in his eye, something Anakin might have called calculating.

“Well, er-” Anakin struggled for something to say that wouldn’t sound stupid. Padmé’s pretty smile was _very_ distracting. “Congrats on the job.”

She blushed slightly. “Thank you. I was happy to get it; I’ve only just moved here.”

“Oh, are you, er, in the area?” Anakin asked.

Padmé turned slightly and pointed. “Just a few blocks that way. Within walking distance of the school, which is great.”

“Yeah.” Anakin rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of something else to say. “It’s a pretty good neighbourhood, round here.”

She nodded, still smiling, and they lapsed into silence. After a few awkward moments, Boba coughed and said, “Shouldn’t we be getting home?”

“Right, yeah, that’s right.” Anakin gave Padmé one last smile. “Nice to meet you, er…Miss Naberrie.”

Padmé laughed. “Please, just Padmé. And it was nice to meet you too.”

/

“Ask her out.”

“Shut up, Boba.”

“ _Ask her out_.”

“I only just met her!”

Anakin was trying to focus on making dinner – not a very impressive dinner, admittedly, but still – but Boba was presenting rather a large obstacle. “Why don’t you just go home?” he snapped. “Your dad’s been back for at least an hour.”

Boba pointedly ignored him. “Ask. Her. _Out._ ”

Anakin threw up his hands. “Okay, okay! I’ll ask her out. Are you happy now?” He looked at his watch. “You better run, kid. I need to eat and meet Ahsoka.”

Boba made a face. “You should have invited Miss Naberrie to the movie.”

“That would have just been weird. Now, go on. Your dad’s probably making dinner.”

/

Despite his promise – and Boba badgering him about said promise – three days later Anakin still hadn’t done anything.

“You will tell me if he gets too much,” Jango said one evening when they met in the hall. “He’s a good kid, but he doesn’t know when to let things go sometimes.”

Anakin shook his head. “It’s fine. I should probably just…bite the bullet.”

Especially since he’d – totally unconsciously, not like he was making an effort or anything – managed to arrive at just the right time each afternoon to catch Padmé leaving, and to exchange a few words. Each time they spoke he could feel Boba glaring at the back of his head, but he had so far managed to ignore it.

The next morning Boba fiddled on his datapad until he found something, and then held it out to Anakin. “Movie times for the nearest cinema, tonight,” he explained. “Asking someone to the movies isn’t _that_ hard. Even _I_ could do it.”

Anakin scanned the list of films; he had no idea what Padmé would like. “Fine,” he sighed, defeated. “Tonight I ask.”

/

They met again outside the school gates, just like usual, except this time Boba was nowhere to be seen. “He’s inside,” Padmé explained, “He forgot a book.”

“Right,” Anakin nodded, nerves twisting in his stomach. This was the perfect time to ask, when Boba wasn’t standing around staring at him.

Before he could say anything, though, Padmé said quietly, “He may be a little…troubled sometimes, but he’s a nice boy, your son.”

Anything Anakin had been about to say flew straight out the window. “What?” he said dumbly.

“He has…less social graces than some,” Padmé said diplomatically, “but he’s not a bad child, really.”

“That’s- er-,” Anakin swallowed, “That’s nice of you to say, but, um, Boba’s not my kid.”

Padmé turned quickly to face him, blinking. “What?”

“He’s my neighbour. I just walk him to and from school.” Wincing, Anakin added, “He used to play truant a lot, y’know, and his dad doesn’t start or finish work at the right time to walk him, and I only work down the street, so…” Anakin trailed off, aware he’d been rambling slightly.

“Oh.” Padmé blushed. “Sorry. I just assumed…”

“No, it’s okay. I mean, it was a logical assumption.”

Padmé laughed a little. “He doesn’t call you dad, so I guess I should have known…”

“Really, it’s fine,” Anakin said, smiling. Then, seizing the moment, he said, “I know you said you don’t know many people in this town, so I was wondering, um…” He took a deep breath. “Do you wanna, I dunno, see a movie or something? Sometime?”

Padmé smiled, slightly hesitant. “That would be nice,” she said.  

Anakin grinned back, wondering whether to suggest a date, when Boba’s voice suddenly said, “You can go see _Twi’lek With A Blaster Rifle_! It just came out this week!”

They both turned to stare at him, while he smiled. Then his face fell slightly. “Actually, don’t go see that one without me. I wanna see that one.”

“Considering it’s an eighteen, I doubt you’ll be seeing it,” Anakin said, shaking his head. “And I don’t want to see it, either,” he added to Padmé, just to reassure her.

She laughed. “Good.” After another slightly awkward moment of silence, she said, “We could see when we’re free and I could call you…?”

“Sure, I’ll give you my number,” Anakin said, trying to sound like it was the most casual thing in the world.

All the way home, Boba was grinning in a very self-satisfied manner. “Total score,” he muttered, and ducked Anakin’s badly aimed cuff round the head.


End file.
